Outgoing envoy reaffirms India’s willingness to deepen ties with B'desh

India's outgoing High Commissioner Pranay Verma reaffirmed New Delhi's willingness to deepen multifaceted ties with Bangladesh for mutual benefit and shared prosperity.

Outgoing Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Sunday reiterated New Delhi's willingness to enhance ''multifaceted'' ties with Dhaka in a farewell call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Verma, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.

He met Rahman, who is also the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman, at the Prime Minister's Office at the Bangladesh Secretariat, according to a social media post by the party.

Rahman thanked Verma for his contributions to bilateral relations and conveyed best wishes for his next assignment, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a post on X.

Verma ''reaffirmed India's willingness to deepen multifaceted engagement with Bangladesh for the mutual benefit and shared prosperity of the peoples of both countries,'' it said.

The two also briefly discussed various potential areas of cooperation driven by the development priorities of the two countries.

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was present at the meeting, according to the BNP's post.

Verma assumed charge as the high commissioner to Dhaka on September 21, 2022.

He will be replaced by former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi, whose appointment last month came amid efforts by the two countries to repair frayed bilateral ties.

Trivedi is expected to take up the assignment shortly, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.

New Delhi's decision to send a seasoned politician to Dhaka comes at a time when both sides are looking to rebuild relations that came under severe strain during the tenure of Bangladesh's interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus.

Verma played a role in initiating efforts to reset the ties after the new BNP government led by PM Rahman came to power in February.